Field of Invention
This invention relates to adjustable beds and more particularly, to adjustable beds suitable for use in confined spaces. Such spaces may include, for example, truck sleeper compartments, recreational vehicles, and flat-top camper trailers.
Description of the Related Art
Many, if not most, of the world""s long-haul trucks have not only a cab, but also a sleeper compartment adjacent the rear of the cab. Sleeper compartments offer several benefits to long-haul drivers and to employers of long-haul drivers. For example, a sleeping compartment enables a driver to pull off of a highway, stop driving, and sleep or relax almost anywhere at almost any time. A sleeping compartment also enables a driver to minimize his or her use of hotels and motels, thereby avoiding the impersonal nature and substantial cumulative cost associated with such lodgings. In addition, if two drivers share a truck at the same time, a sleeping compartment allows one driver to rest or sleep while the other driver drives the vehicle.
As economies around the world grow, more and more goods are being shipped via the trucking industry. In the United States alone, there are approximately 2,400,000 trucks with sleeper compartments. Moreover, approximately 120,000 new trucks with sleeper compartments are built in the United States each year.
In order to increase highway safety, many jurisdictions around the world have adopted, or will adopt, rules limiting the number of hours a driver may drive without taking a several-hour sleep break or rest break. Moreover, many of the newer regulations actually have reduced the number of hours of continuous driving time, relative to prior standards and regulations. Accordingly, in many jurisdictions, long-haul drivers are spending less time driving, while spending more time in their sleeping compartments.
The majority of the sleeping compartments in use today include a flat surface with a mattress or pad positioned on the surface. While many drivers find that this flat bunk-type surface is tolerable for napping or sleeping, they find that this set-up severely limits the ways in which these drivers are able to use this precious space. For example, many drivers want to be able to sit up at an angle in a sleeping compartment, in order to read, watch television or video tapes, work on a laptop computer, and the like. Because of the need to get more out of this limited space, drivers have come up with a relatively unsatisfactory xe2x80x9csolutionxe2x80x9d. In further detail, a driver typically puts lots of pillows on the mattress or pad, and then adjusts or shifts the pillows in an attempt to achieve a desired level of support or incline. However, the bunched up pillows barely provide the desired level of support or incline; and if they do, the positioning is relatively short-lived, as the pillows move and shift, which leads to relatively frustrated drivers.
For better or for worse, the trucking industry in most countries cannot afford to have frustrated drivers. As noted briefly above, there is an increased customer demand for truck transportation. Accordingly, there has been a corresponding increase in the demand for truck drivers. However, because of a relatively tight labor force in many of the industrialized countries, there is a shortage of drivers. Accordingly, the trucking industry in these areas wants to do what it can to both retain existing drivers and attract new drivers.
The conventional, flat, bunk-type surfaces found in most sleeping compartments also do little to alleviate specific health problems. For example, many doctors recommend that, while napping or sleeping, a person should have his or her upper body in an elevated position in order to alleviate respiratory problems such as asthma, sleep apnea, snoring, and emphysema. Many doctors also recommend keeping the upper body in an elevated position while resting or sleeping in order to ease symptoms with a hiatal hernia and with acid-reflex syndrome. In addition, many doctors recommend maintaining the legs in an elevated position while sleeping or resting, in order to improve circulation in the legs and to inhibit swelling of the legs. While these health issues are not new, they are becoming more important as truck drivers and employers become more health-conscious and recognize the impact of health on personal happiness and productivity.
Richter, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,139 discloses a rather elaborate, air-powered, air-cushioned, multi-positional, reclining sleeper bed. This air-powered bed includes a pair of vertically-oriented air springs, with each air spring being made of a deformable material surrounded by a steel coil and being connected to the compressed air system of the truck. Apparently, however, the number of sleeper compartments which incorporate such compressed-air-driven systems are relatively few. This may be due, for example, to factors such as weight, bulk, cost, installation difficulty and/or relative ease of adjustment.
Accordingly, what is needed is an adjustable bed which is: durable, yet lightweight; non-bulky; inexpensive; easy to install; and easy to adjust.
The invention addresses the limitations discussed above by providing an adjustable bed system which is made of durable, yet lightweight, relatively inexpensive materials. In addition, the adjustable bed system has relatively few components, making the system non-bulky and easy to install. Also, the system design allows a driver to easily adjust various portions of the bed from a horizontal position to any of a number of different inclined positions, thereby allowing the driver to elevate his or her upper body and/or lower body as desired.
One aspect of the invention is directed to an adjustable bed system contained within a truck sleeper compartment. This adjustable bed system includes a base frame, an upper-body frame system, a lower-body frame system, a first adjustable-linkage system adjustably connecting the upper-body frame system to the base frame, and a second adjustable-linkage system adjustably connecting the lower-body frame system to the base frame. The upper-body frame system is pivotably attached at one end to the base frame, and is pivotable from a horizontal position to a position which is at an acute angle with the horizontal position. The lower-body frame system also is pivotably attached at one end to the base frame, and is pivotable from a horizontal position to a position which is at an acute angle with the horizontal position.
Another aspect of the invention is directed to an adjustable bed system in which the base frame has oppositely-disposed first and second side-members. The first side-member includes an upper section pivotally connected to a lower section, and the second side-member likewise includes an upper section pivotally connected to a lower section. This pivoting feature enables the base frame to be xe2x80x9ccollapsedxe2x80x9d, or folded over on itself, when the bed system is in a partially-assembled state.
In a further aspect, the upper-body frame system may include first and second frame-elements, with each frame-element being pivotably attached at one end to the base frame. Also, the base frame may have oppositely-disposed first and second side-members, with the upper-body frame-system first frame-element being attached at one end to the first side-member, and the upper-body frame system second frame-element being attached at one end to the second side-member.
In yet another aspect, the first adjustable-linkage may include first and second telescoping-fittings, with each fitting having a plurality of user-selectable settings, whereby a user may selectively adjust the length of the fitting. The first fitting telescopically connects the upper-body frame-system first frame-element to the first side-member, and the second fitting telescopically connects the upper-body frame system second-element to the second side-member.
In another aspect of the invention, the lower-body frame system may include first and second frame-elements, with each frame-element being pivotally attached at one end to the base frame. Also, the base frame may include oppositely-disposed first and second side-members, with the lower-body frame-system first-frame element being attached at one end to the first side-member, and the lower-body frame-system second frame-element being attached at one end to the second side-member.
In yet a further aspect, the second adjustable-linkage system may include first and second telescoping-fittings, with each fitting having a plurality of user-selectable settings, whereby a user may selectively adjust the length of the fitting. The first fitting telescopically connects the lower-body frame-system first frame-element to the first side-member, and the second fitting telescopically connects the lower-body frame-system second frame-element to the second side-member.
In yet another aspect, the adjustable bed system, according to the principles of the invention, may further include an upper-body support surface attached to the upper-body frame system, as well as a lower-body support surface attached to the lower-body frame system. In addition, if desired, the adjustable bed system may have a middle support surface, with the middle support surface being attached to the base frame and positioned between the upper-body frame system and the lower-body frame system.
In an additional aspect, the adjustable bed system may be provided in combination with a mattress or pad which is constructed and arranged for positioning on the adjustable bed system.